If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Five'll Get You Tenor

$4,700 for a beat-up 1930 Martin 0-18T? Ah, but read the ad! It belonged to a famous musician! Who, you say? The seller ain't tellin'!

Who played the instrument may be important for some; but the instrument itself is what I am selling.

Um, no. Sorry, buddy, but when you add 2 or 3 G's to the blue book price because it belonged to some big shot you refuse to name, you are selling more than the instrument, and pretending otherwise is just downright infuriating. Oh, and there's nothing "custom" about this guitar; it's a perfectly ordinary stock tenor, unless millions of scratches and a chewed-up soundhole amount to customization.

Larry "Leather Couch" Wexler, who sells high-end vintage to an exclusive clientele and prices his stuff accordingly, also has a 1930 0-18T for sale, in far better condition than this one. And Larry wants only $2,750 for his.

The eBay instrument has the name "Paul" scratched on the upper bass bout. Unless that stands for "McCartney," I'm thinking it will be a very lonely tenor until the seller decides to price it in accordance with its condition.

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

English is a funny language, it sure is, and people have a lot of fun with it - both intentional and unintentional. The title does say "Original Condition," which seems to imply this is how it left the factory. This lends credence to your distressed theory. Well, you know, if you cant dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bulls**t. I tell you one thing - this ain't shinola!

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

For $4,700 you could get one of those "Blueberry" tenors with Maori carvings all over it ... hey, maybe that is what this seller thinks he has.

In the same eBay message where he called me a Muslim, the seller remarked that he was "too tired" to respond to my (admittedly not entirely polite) inquiry as to the identity of the guitar's famous former owner. I replied simply to note the irony of his being too tired to respond, yet somehow not too tired to complain about being tired. Here's what he came back with:

Please cease any contacts with me at this time, continuing such will cause reporting to El Monte PD. I feel you are harrasing me. Stop NOW!

I suppose I should comply, not so much because he asked, but to spare the El Monte PD from having to deal with this nutcase.

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

Wow! Again, wow! It just keep getting better, or worse, depending on your perspective. Maybe you should report him to the El Monte PD for harassment. He is definitely offending your sensibilities, insulting your intelligence, and committing assault and battery on common sense. Are these crimes? They should be, at least in this case. Crikey!

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

The tenor guitar is worth every penny and more.

It is OBVIOUS that the guitar was built by Les Paul.

Or St. Paul, the Apostle.

Or Pauley Shore.

Or Pauley from The Sopranos.

The Arabic world develop the Oud, an ancestor to the Lute and therefore guitar and mandolin. Maybe he thought calling you a "Muslim" was an insult? A totally APPAULING fellow. Maybe I'll send him a recording of me playing The Macarena on a banjo mandolin. THEN he'll know what pain REALLY is. But first I have to fix my banjo mandolin. And learn the song.

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

Finally just digested this bit from the eBay description. I must have been laughing too hard to notice it before:

For an appraisal before the bidding ends, please contact any shop in Pasadena, CA or surrounding. like Redzone or Guitar Center. Contact them if you may, Upon proper payment of service, I will bring the guitar over to the shop for inspection.

So not only does he expect potential buyers to start bidding at $4.7K, he also expects them to pay for an appraisal.

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

Originally Posted by mrmando

Finally just digested this bit from the eBay description. I must have been laughing too hard to notice it before:

For an appraisal before the bidding ends, please contact any shop in Pasadena, CA or surrounding. like Redzone or Guitar Center. Contact them if you may, Upon proper payment of service, I will bring the guitar over to the shop for inspection.

So not only does he expect potential buyers to start bidding at $4.7K, he also expects them to pay for an appraisal.

At GUITAR CENTER

Does "proper payment of service" include paying the seller's time and mileage to take it in?

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

Are you suggesting we be sensible? Where's the fun in that? You have a lot to learn!

Kidding aside, there actually are a few important figures: $4700 (the asking price); 0 (the number of bids so far; 0 (the number of bids he is going to get; $0 (the amount he is going to get from this auction).

Re: Five'll Get You Tenor

All of the discussion here leads to an interesting question...
With vintage Gibson TG-1 and vintage Martin O-18T tenor guitars pretty much always available in the 'up to $2,000' price range, is there really ANY market (used or new) for standard scale acoustic tenor guitars over $2,000?

"What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter"Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
Think Hippie Thoughts...
Gear: The Current Cast of Characters